Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-27
DAILY HERALD.
Jaw Gouii.s Head.

Wall street was treated to new
thrill the other day, compared with
which the sensations caused by the
recent startling occurrences In that
speculative centre were as water to
ardent spirits. 1t was whispered
about that DIR. William A. Hammond
had been examining Jay Gould's
head. and that he had made the
examination with an instrument which
faithfully reported everything
that was going on inside, together with
numerous valuable facts respecting
the intercranial construction. Wal
street curiosity was aroused to the
highest pitch.
This source of 10000 schemes had
for briet time certainly reposed be-
meath the eye of science. There
wasn't broker on Wall street who
did not think he would have been
able, if he had been in the place OF
this peculiarly fortunate doctor, to say
something which would make Ham
let's remarks over Yorick's skull for
gotten.
DIR. Hammond, however, refuses to
talk of his great Wall street patient,
or of what he has found out about his
head, except in the most general way,
but he speaks very freely about the
instrument which he used in the ex-
animation, and which serves simply
to determine to the fractional part OF
a degree the difference in temperature
between two portions of the head.
On the basis of such differ
ences and the departure from what is
normal number OF important con-
clusions respecting the intercranial sit
uation may be drawn. !.
The instrument is the invention OF
DIR. J. S. Lombard, formerly of Har-
ward College, now OF bennington,
England, where he has gone to live,
and is a wonderfully delicate ther-
mometer, whereon the heat is record
ed by changing it into electricity, and
by this means the most delicate differ
ences of temperature are indicated.
DR.. Hammond explained the opera
tion familiarly by saying that in all
properly constituted right-handed
men the right side of the head is the
hotter. If the thermo-electric poles
are applied to the two sides OF the
head, and this fact is not made clear,
there is some improper accumulation
of blood which brings about a differ
ent result. Similarly the foreheads in
all healthy people is hotter than the
back part of the head. I'll
the calorimeter should indicate some
thing different from this, then again
there would be something wrong.
Repeated experiments and observa-
tions will ordinarily show what the
matter is. Variations from the
standard temperature will reveal the
presence of incipient paralysis and
other diseases of the brain.
This was the instrument used in the
examination of Mr.. Gould's head,
and it indicated, DIR. Hammond says,
that the financier's head is all right
and as sound as a dollar. He has
suffered severely for months from
neuralgia, but the brain itself is all
right and has experienced no imr air
ment whatever, and is strong and Wig
orous.
At present Mr.. Gould's general
health is very much better than it was
early in the summer. The attacks OF
neuralgia kept him awake nights, and
for three months he says he was
never absolutely free from pain. But
this is all past now, and he is begin
hing to enjoy life again. He was a
very sick man and was in
clined to believe that there was
something the matter with his head,
and the favorable result of DIR. Ham
mond's examination has given him
much comfort. Now he sleeps fairly
well, and his been mentioning to
friends with considerable satisfaction
that there are few nights now when
he fails to get seven hours sleep.